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November 30, 2008 / 4:04 p.m. CT (2204 GMT)
Endeavour's return: NASA's 124th shuttle mission, STS-126, came to a close at 3:25 p.m. CST on Sunday as Endeavour landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The seven crew members' "home improvement" mission, which served to upgrade the International Space Station from a "three bedroom, one bathroom house" to a "five bedroom, two bathroom home", also installed a urine recycling system and serviced the outpost's paddle wheel joints to keep its solar arrays tracking the sun. Landing 15 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes and 37 seconds after lifting off November 14, Endeavour made the 100th daytime shuttle landing, the 52nd touchdown at Edwards and the first on a temporary runway built at the Southern California air base.
November 27, 2008 / 2:51 a.m. CT (0851 GMT)
Thanksgiving, astronaut-style: Despite it being irradiated, the turkey was moist, the thermostabilized candied yams weren't too sweet, and the rehydratable greens beans could have passed as fresh. The cornbread dressing was a tad dry, but the cranapple dessert rivaled the best on Earth. Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts will share this Thanksgiving dinner with the crew on-board the International Space Station Thursday. (The taste test was courtesy NASA's food lab at Johnson Space Center.)
November 25, 2008 / 7:02 p.m. CT (0102 GMT)
Behind the mission patch: Had the crew presently in space selected Tim Gagnon's original proposed design for their STS-126 patch (shown to the left), they would have flown to the space station wearing a subtle tribute to collectSPACE.com. Our maroon and black color palette was ultimately set aside, however elements from Gagnon's artwork, as well as the reason he chose to pay tribute to this site were carried forth as part of the crew's official insignia, which was created with the assistance of Gagnon and fellow collectSPACE member, Jorge Cartes.
November 23, 2008 / 11:14 p.m. CT (0514 GMT Nov 24)
Sunday Morning Science: When Dr. Don Pettit was last on the space station in 2002, he used his free time, usually on Saturday mornings, to perform science experiments motivated by his own curiousity. Six years later, Pettit demonstrated that his sense of wonder is still strong. After spending 10 days transferring and installing equipment, as well as controlling the station's robotic arm, Pettit used some of his off-duty time on Sunday to film a new episode of "Saturday Morning Science". Using a clear plastic cover, Pettit improvised a new way to drink coffee.
November 23, 2008 / 5:41 p.m. CT (2341 GMT)
Station schedule: NASA announced Friday the crew members assigned to International Space Station expeditions through 2010, as the station transitions from three to six crew contingents. Among those confirmed for six month stays at the orbiting outpost were NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell, Catherine Coleman, Scott Kelly, Shannon Walker and Douglas Wheelock. Joining them onboard will be Roscosmos cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, Alexander Kalery, Dmitri Kondratiyev, Mikhail Korniyenko, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka. European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli will round out the new crews who will form ISS Expedition 24 through Expedition 26 in 2010.
November 22, 2008 / 2:53 p.m. CT (2053 GMT)
Gennadi Dolgopolov (1935-2008): Chosen as a member of Flight Test Department 731 at TsKBEM (known today as RKK Energia), Gennadi Dolgopolov, 73, died on November 13. One of the first eight civilians named by Vasily Mishin (Chief Designer Sergei Korolev's successor) for space flight training on May 23, 1966, Dolgopolov was disqualified one year later as a result of medical concerns. He remained with Energia as an engineer and later deputy director. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a son.
November 21, 2008 / 11:25 p.m. CT (0525 GMT Nov 22)
3, 2, 1... Abort! For the first time since the Apollo program, NASA has tested a launch abort motor for a manned spacecraft. The ground firing held Thursday at ATK's facility in Promontory, Utah produced flames more than 100 feet high. The 5.5-second test of the 17-foot tall, high impulse motor demonstrated the results of a series of motor and component tests conducted earlier this year in preparation for a test with a mock-up of the Orion capsule scheduled for the spring of 2009. The last abort motor test was in January 1966 to qualify the Apollo escape system.
November 20, 2008 / 11:35 a.m. CT (1735 GMT)
ISS at 10: At 12:40 a.m. CST on Thursday, the International Space Station marked ten years in flight on the anniversary of its first component launch in 1998. The Proton that lifted off with the Zarya service module was followed into orbit by 30 Progress rockets, 27 U.S. space shuttle missions, 17 Soyuz, another Proton and one each European ATV and Russian Soyuz booster. One hundred sixty seven (167) people from 15 nations have visited the station (50 took up residency) and together they ate more than 19000 meals while logging 57,309 orbits about Earth.
November 19, 2008 / 12:15 p.m. CT (1815 GMT)
LIFE in (cyber) space: In April 1959, LIFE Magazine signed an exclusive $500,000, 3 year contract with the Mercury 7 astronauts (and their 7 wives) for their personal diaries leading up to and including their first flights into space. As an outcome of the deal, LIFE photographer Ralph Morse had unprecedented access to the astronauts as they trained. His photos, which documented the space program well beyond Project Mercury, are now a part of a free, searchable online archive hosted by Google of about ten million photos taken by LIFE magazine photographers.
November 19, 2008 / 7:25 a.m. CT (1325 GMT)
'Wall-E' is already taken: Who better to be the symbol for a rover naming contest than another rover? NASA has solicited the help of Disney and Pixar's WALL-E to promote a competition among U.S. students to devise the name for the Mars Science Laboratory that is targeted for launch in 2009. The winner will have the opportunity to sign their own name on the six-wheel, nine-foot long rover.
November 16, 2008 / 12:02 p.m. CT (1802 GMT)
Rising and falling flags: Two flags marked space history on Friday as one rose and the other fell. The white, red and blue flag of the Czech Republic was hoisted alongside flags from seventeen other nations, representing the country becoming a European Space Agency member state. Later that day, India's tricolour became only the fifth nation's flag to be deposited on the Moon by the country it symbolizes. The orange, white and green flag was painted onto the sides of the Chandrayaan-1's Moon impact probe.
November 14, 2008 / 7:49 p.m. CT (0449 GMT Nov 15)
Endeavour launched on "Extreme Home Improvement" mission: Seven astronauts and seven tons of equipment and supplies are on their way to the International Space Station Friday evening, having launched at 6:55 p.m. CST onboard space shuttle Endeavour. The 15 day STS-126 mission will deliver to the outpost new crew quarters, a new toilet, a new kitchen, new refrigerator and new exercise equipment, as well as a new member of the station's crew. Endeavour's astronauts will also make four spacewalks to clean and service the ISS's two solar array rotary joints. STS-126 is the 31st shuttle night launch, the 71st to launch off Pad 39A, and the 124th shuttle mission.
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